The Firing Range...

Since the hobbits are here & it's slightly impossible to study, I'll post a few pictures from an afternoon at the range. As you can see, we kinda need to hit the whole area with a bush cutter. I think Viking Dad is planning on burning it all off once the majority of the weeds are dead.

Flanders, Ramone & Jer...

Ramone's turn - the backstop-thingie also needs to be replaced. And they used metal posts to support it!

My cousin Jay, Beetlebomb, Elf & Lil'Un's dad...

Flanders firing...

Jer's turn...

I got to play some too, but as it's my camera there are no pics of me. (Count your blessings... :grin:)

Things That Make Me Mad...

...people who adopt a 6-year-old from another country & then decide they don't want her three years later and then don't have the guts to tell her themselves.

...social workers who don't tell the same girl for 2-3 months that her parental rights are terminated because *whining* "we don't know how to tell her - let's get a consultant to tell us how". Guess what - the consultant is gonna tell you that you're idiots for not telling her & leaving her to wonder why her family never calls her anymore.

For three freakin' months!

...sneaky, manipulative teenagers. 'Nough said.

...staff who take a 15-year-old's court-ordered "Baby Think It Over", put it in the basement & muffle it with pillows, just so they don't have to listen to it, leaving her still thinking that she can have a baby "so she has someone to love her" & not be aware of the consequences & responsibility. 'Cause now she thinks that someone will magically appear & make the crying go away. (Trust me, girl ain't exactly a genius...)

On the other hand, it's kinda funny to see a smug little smile practially falling off a bratty girl's face when calling me a nerd doesn't get the desired result. Instead she gets reminded that I'm a (usually) smart nerd & what exactly does she have going for her... ? 'Cause knowing how to cuss, insult people, do drugs & sleep around ain't gonna get her anywhere worth going.

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By the by, been busy with school, work & school. I have pictures from family stuff plus some of the new house & fun at the firing range that I'll post later when I get caught up on some of my class work. In the meantime, don't hold your breath for the next post - blue just isn't your color... ;-)

Poor Kitties

Well, we figure we know what happened to my other kitties. (Zoe was run over.) Mom looked out in the back yard yesterday morning & there was a coyote not 20 feet from the back door. He must've gotten Sydney & Wash. We're keeping the new kitties (from Peanut) in the shop at night & making sure the new pup is in either the shop or the pen to hopefully avoid losing them.

I miss my Psycho-Sydney & our conversations. And sweet little Wash & Zoe purring at me...

By the way, the new kitties came with the names McFeisty & McTwin, although that will change soon. Mom has already vetoed Dalek & Cyber as names. She wants McTwin to be Twister but hasn't come up with anything for McFeisty yet.

*sniff*

Well, we're partially moved out to the new place. The outside kitties - Sydney, Wash & Zoe - did well for the first several days. Now, though...

I haven't seen Wash since Wednesday of last week, Sydney since late Friday night/early Saturday morning & Zoe was accidentally run over on Sunday while the I was at the firing range with Flanders, Ramone & Jay. Peanut gave us two of her baby kitties to keep in the shop as mousers & Boo is in the house, but I miss my babies. Hopefully Syd & Wash are just wandering around, but I'm afraid an owl might've gotten little Wash. Syd was hanging out in the trees to the west of the house, but she hasn't answered all weekend when I called her & she's my conversation kitty. She always answers when someone talks to her.

Oh. My. Gosh.

Yesterday my coworkers & I discovered the dangers of diarrhea.

One of the girls, who was described by the therapist as the craziest client she's seen, came out to use the restroom. She came to the office & just stared at me. I was getting ready to ask what she needed when she mumbled "I have diarrhea". I said that the bathroom was open & then... the smell hit. It was so bad I'm surprised I didn't see a green wave of funk floating at me. Girl was in there for quite a while. I went to check on her nut she had finally gone back to her room. I thought I saw lint on the floor so I flipped on the light and... nope. Not lint. Definately not lint.

The girl had gone back to bed - no shower, nothin'. I had her get up & clean the bathroom. I mean the whole stinkin' room. The floor, the toilet seat, the so-clogged-I-could-see-it-from-the-door toilet bowl, the door, the counter... ev.ery.thing. Another staff had already started spraying chemicals while I was getting trash bags. She had to be redirected several times to go finish it all. She eventually finished & showered. I left about that time.

Last night, I heard from the other staff that she did put her clothes & bedding in the washing machine like I asked, but she left all the crap on everything & shoved so much stuff in there that it smelled like "burnt diarrhea". That bedding, needless to say, is now in the dumpster but only after getting it out of the washer & spreading more crap all over the laundry room. The staff told me she got sick after seeing/smelling all of that.

Ick.

On a brighter-smelling (& yummier) note, I was working with the same staff this morning & she offered to get me a doughnut since I was staying late to help her out. I told her I wanted a Bavarian cream with chocolate icing & she said "an ovarian cream?" I spit out the drink I just taken & corrected her. Later we were laughing about it & she got mixed up again & said something about "Bavarian cysts." Basically, be careful when you order a doughnut in these parts.

This. Is. Awesome!

Meet... The Duct Tape Bandit!

And this sounds like something from Monty Python...

And I might read more newspapers if we had more little gems like this:

'Everything had to be just right for this to occur,' Ebel said, possibly confusing 'right' with 'horribly, horribly wrong'.

Note To Self...

Don't read ghost stories while working alone in a dark cottage...

The Piano of Doom

Ya' know those old player pianos that you can drop a quarter in & then hear some "lovely" music from? Yeah, well, Mom's booth at the local antique shop is right behind one of those things. Durn people kept dropping quarters in that stupid thing when we were there on Saturday & it plays L.O.U.D. I was really wanting a shotgun there for a while.

For the piano, not the customers. Mostly...

Bwahahaha!

I have a new nickname that I absolutely love! But first, a little back story...

I have had several switchblades throughout the years, some bought on missions trips in Mexico & one purchased from my job partner at Cessna. I thought they were all lost until the parental units & I were cleaning some stuff out of the garage a month or so ago. I found one of them & was so excited that I carreid it with me everywhere for a while. I also had to show it to my friends at work, mostly for the reactions that I get. ;-P

Anyway, I was at work the other night & one of the supervisors was getting ready to go home. He stopped by the office & said "Hey, Switchblade Sally." Hehe. I think it's my favourite of all my nicknames. Maybe I can set it to some Wilson Pickett... "Switchblade Sally, think you better put your switchblade down..."

Useless Fluff

You Are Mud Pie

You're the perfect combo of flavor and depth Those who like you give into their impulses

What Kind of Pie Are You?

Mmmm... chocolate...
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You Are a Chocolate Cake

Fun, comforting, and friendly. You are a true classic, and while you're not super cutting edge, you're high quality. People love your company - and have even been known to get addicted to you.

What Kind of Cake Are You?

Mmmm... chocolate...
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You Are Smores

Unusual and unconventional, you make your strange ways work for you. You've got personality - no one's denying that!

What Dessert Are You Most Like?

Mmmm... chocolate...
I think I'm noticing a wee bit of a trend here...
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You Will Not Be a Cool Parent

And that's pretty okay. While your kids may not think of you as a friend, they will respect you. You know that kids need discipline and structure, and you're not afraid to give it to them. Just be careful that your strictness doesn't lead to rebellion. It's good to have standards and rules, but you don't need to have an iron fist when enforcing them.

Would You Be a Cool Parent?

Kids - the reason closets, duct tape & straight jackets were invented...
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You Should Own a Husky

Athletic, free-spirited, and perfect for cuddling

What Kind of Dog Should You Have?

I used to have two Huskies.

Mackenzie, Mac for shirt, was 1/2 Husky, 1/4 Rottie & a 1/4 German Shepherd. He was so cute & sweet, but unfortunately he hung himself from a friend's back porch when I was staying over. Yes. I had a dog who committed suicide.

Stetson was my other one & he was a purebred. I got him cheap from a breeder due to one testicle not dropping. He wasn't as lovey as Mac but he was stinkin' gorgeous. He was in my senior pictures but some dude stole him & Peanut's little Rachel. We know who did it but we can't prove it. He & a buddy would steal people's dogs & then sell them to a lab in Missouri for $250 / head.

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The Keys to Your Heart

You are attracted to those who are unbridled, untrammeled, and free. In love, you feel the most alive when things are straight-forward, and you're told that you're loved. You'd like to your lover to think you are optimistic and happy. You would be forced to break up with someone who was ruthless, cold-blooded, and sarcastic. Your ideal relationship is open. Both of you can talk about everything... no secrets. Your risk of cheating is zero. You care about society and morality. You would never break a commitment. You think of marriage something you've always wanted... though you haven't really thought about it. In this moment, you think of love as commitment. Love only works when both people are totally devoted.

What Are The Keys To Your Heart?

Not too shabby...

With a tip o' the hat to the lovely lady Leslie...

Whoa...

No posts for 2 weeks! D'oh! Well, I'm back again. Been busy - moved from my house to the parental units' house. My house sold and Mom & Dad don't take possession of their new house until the 27th, so I'm in their current house for now. My poor kitties have to bow to the senior kitty, Boo, & so are now outside puddy-tats. The kittens are loving the fenced-in backyard but it's taking Sydney a bit to get used to it. She's dropped some weight after hiding out underneath the playhouse for the first 3-4 days. Poor Rumsfeld was going to be too neglected with my crazy schedule, so he went to the Humane Society. There was already someone coming to look at him before we left. Hopefully he's with someone who can give him the attention & room he needs.

I guess I forgot to mention that Mom & Dad bought a new house. It's 10 acres (I think), west of town with - get this - a firing range!!! Waa-hoo! *happy dance* LH is probably going to be doing some of his concealed-carry classes out there.

The family reunion has been cancelled. The Wyoming portion of the family wasn't going to be able to make it & Mom, Dad & I are moving during that week, so it just wasn't going to work. And I emailed the lady in charge of the church's women's retreat & explained my schedule, so I'm off that commitee. Mom is still on it though, so I'll end up helping anyway. :-)

Poor Dead Language

Your Score: Older Futhark

You scored

Language of the Norse, Older Futhark! Thirty symbols, all told. And no hardier, more warrior-like tongue has ever graced the longships of the Viki or left the Celts and Saxons in such quivering fear. There's only one drawback, that being you died 800 years ago.

Link: The Which Ancient Language Are You Test written by imipak on OkCupid Free Online Dating, home of the The Dating Persona Test

Viking longships - reminded me of when I taught the story of Jonah to Mom's kindergarten class several weeks ago. The boys in the class turned the boats on their colouring sheets into Viking ships, complete with oars, shields & the dragons on the front. One was on fire & the helmeted captain had fallen overboard, along with the rest of the crew.

With a curtsy to Miss Leslie...

*maniacal laughter*

That quiet, fizzy sound you hear is my brain cells dying off en masse in horror.

I just realized what my schedule is going to be for the next rest of the year. I'm going back to school full time, taking Microbiology Lab & Lecture, Chemistry Lab & Lecture & online Medical Terminology. I'm also working every single night for the next month, moving in about 3 weeks, right before the family reunion that I'm planning & have to do a lot of prep cooking for. I'm the coordinator for the makeup department for our church's Judgement House production, so I get to learn about theatrical makeup, which is going to be a lot of fun. The Judgement House productions will be Thursday thru Saturday nights the last weekend of October & the first weekend of November. They will go from about 4 or 4:30 in the afternoon until everyone is done, anywhere from 9pm until possibly 11:30pm. And today, after doing the weekly PowerPoint announcements for church, I got a newsletter from the planning committee for the next women's retreat at church. The planning commitee I am also a member of. Thankfully the retreat isn't until the spring. I also help in the parental units' kindergarten Sunday school class.

I need a nap. A very, very long nap.

Back To The Accent

I've been stuck in a British accent again. I blame all the movies I've been watching. Absolutely everything has been either (that's pronounced I-ther, of course...) British or set in England.

The Importance of Being Earnest... Mansfield Park... An Ideal Husband... the new Pride & Prejudice... the 6-hour A&E Pride & Prejudice... and of course, Doctor Who...

And with Colin Firth being in several of those movies, I now have a touch of a thing for him, especially as Mr. Darcy. *sigh*

It also doesn't help that I've been researching clothing from the 1870's, especially '74-'76, in hopes of getting into doing a little re-enacting at Old Cowtown Museum. Ready-made corsets are not cheap & the thought of making one is a little daunting, but a friend has connections & he can hook me up with some people who have experience in making them. Oh, did you know that it is nigh impossible to find Battenburg lace fabric or trim? If my dress plan is (eventually) approved by the museum, I'll likely have to buy several tablecloths &/or curtains & alter them for the skirt & trim. Just call me Scarlett... ;-P

Hobbits

The Mothership, Peanut, Belle, her hobbits & I all went down yonder to Wichita a while ago to celebrate a cousin's birthday. As you can see below, Little Man & Bobo conked out on the way down.
Sugar Plum wasn't so inclined, especially after seeing Auntie Peanut's new phone. Oooo, new toy!Poor Bobo wasn't feeling well, so he & Belle were in the van trying to avoid, ummm... spewage... while we were at the restaurant. Little Man missed Mommy, of course, (it was the end of the world, dontcha know) so he had to go join them in seclusion. Not much fun for poor Belle, but Sugar Plum did discover a new favourite food.
I'm not that into lemons as a snack, but hey, they apparently float her boat.

Little Man chillin' & enjoying the scenery on the way home.